If the Edmonton Prospects get their way, the local sports scene will one day have a bit of diamond district to accompany the downtown developments surrounding Rogers Place.

The baseball club is looking to submit a proposal to the City of Edmonton over the next two weeks outlining around $3 million in upgrades to Remax Field.

But it threw a bit of a curveball the city’s way Wednesday morning by making the announcement during a hastily called press conference that could be seen as leading off dangerously, as opposed to waiting for the formal bidding process to get underway through requests for proposal.

The problem is the Prospects need to know if they will still be calling the park home once their current lease expires following the 2019 Western Canadian Baseball League season, and say the city keeps pushing back the date for submitting proposals.

“Meanwhile, we’re trying to run a ball team here and we’re trying to run a business,” Prospects owner Patrick Cassidy told media assembled outside the Home Plate VIP Lounge in the 9,200-capacity facility located in the river valley. “So we’re trying to be proactive. We’re trying to be an organization that provides solutions. We’re not interested in brinkmanship or getting into that type of thing with the city.

“We’re Edmontonians, we want to be here, we want to find a solution. I’m not quite sure how the city will take this press conference here today, but I hope they take it positively and I’m just letting them know that, hey, we’re here, don’t forget about us. We want to be a part of the Ballpark District that we see coming in the future and let’s work together.”

As part of their offer, the Prospects are willing to step up to the plate in financing the $2.75-3.25 million estimated costs of the upgrades, as well as undertaking the work in exchange for a 25-year lease and licence to Remax Field.

Originally, the club became the prime baseball tenant of the facility in 2013 after the Edmonton Capitals suspended operations. Since then, Prospects’ attendance has increased between 18 and 24 per cent annually. Last year, they finished 14th out of all summer collegiate baseball organizations in North America with an average attendance of 2,050.

In 2016, they signed the four-year lease they are currently under, with a mutual option for a fifth year that the City told them would not be pursued.

And that’s left the Prospects without many, well, prospects on deck.

“It’s possible, we don’t really know what the future holds right now,” said Cassidy. “The city wants to go out to an RFP (request for proposal), I think they keep hoping some triple-A group comes along and makes a proposal.

“And all I would say to that is even with this proposal we’re making, there could be mechanisms built into that agreement where if there is a triple-A opportunity down the road somewhere, there’s a clause in the contract that would allow something like that.”

Chances are that would never happen. The days of the Edmonton Trappers playing affiliated ball in the city are long gone.

“It’s not likely,” Cassidy said. “Double-A, there isn’t a single double-A league around. There’s the Northwest A League, and the Vancouver Canadians are in that. As a matter of fact, they have our centre-fielder, we’d like him back.

“There’s the Pioneer League, which continues to sort of migrate south, so professional baseball is kind of a long-shot for this city. There’s a lot of issues with bringing pro ball up to Canada in terms of work visas, travel costs, getting Major League Baseball onside. If one satellite team way up in northern Alberta wants to be part of the league, I’m sure all of the other owners would be really excited about that.”

Tongue firmly in cheek, of course.

But Cassidy is dead serious when it comes to investing in the Prospects’ future here.

“We just feel we’ve got a great opportunity here to do something with what’s available,” he said. “The Western Canadian Baseball League, formerly the WMBL, the Saskatchewan Major Baseball League, it’s been around for 80 years, so it’s not going anywhere. And it continues to grow.”

At the same time, the Prospects say they must address sustainability through energy inefficiencies and upgrades to the field to enhance the fan experience in order to compete for their entertainment dollars.

“I’m grateful the Prospects have been such a great partner for us for the last several years,” Edmonton mayor Don Iveson said. “Obviously, we are continuing negotiation with them and any other perspective tenants on how to best leverage the ball diamond. It will be a decision for council in the fullness of time, that’s not for me to negotiate in public.

“But their willingness and their eagerness to work with us, I think, is a really good sign that hopefully we’ll be able to make something creative and lasting happen with the ballpark. So that’s what council’s been waiting to see, if that could develop.”

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